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Is this the end? freaked out on weed the other night

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Roger32

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Joined
Jun 3, 2007
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I have smoked weed 10+ years on a regular basis. Probably 1/2 oz or so a month for the last few years.

On Thursday I was just hanging out watching TV and had smoked some weed by myself. Laying on the couch and all of a sudden I got this overwhelming sensation in my chest. Thought I was having a heart attack. Got all anxious and had what I think is a panic attack. Was not thinking clearly the rest of that night or the following morning. Took off work the following day and saw a doctor (first time in 5+ years). They did an EKG and there were no issues.

Since then I abstained on Friday and Saturday, but smoked a bowl on Sunday and had some anxiety (to the point where its not enjoyable). Smoked very slowly today (only took maybe 4 hits) and still had issues so I stopped smoking.

Is this the end of weed for me? Or do you think maybe if I give it a rest for a month then smoke a bowl it will be like normal?
 
do you use any other medications?

anxiety and panic attacks relating to cannabis use seems to be fairly common and seems to be surfacing more and more lately. There are at least 1-2 people who report it every week on these boards.

Are there any new stresses in your life? I know when I have a lot on my plate I don't enjoy smoking as much because it makes my head feel like it is spinning.

Other than abstinence I don't know of any other real solution. Would not suggest taking other drugs to help with anxiety, imo will only complicate and make things worse. If you like tea you could try chamomile tea but I doubt that would ward off full blown panic attacks. If it was bad enough for you to go get checked out by a doctor I would say put it down for a long while and try small amounts like you did, if you feel uncomfortable don't keep going.
 
My guess is that it was all in your head, as others are stating. Generally an awareness of the normal functioning of the body is strange in of itself couple that with a tendency to over think and then get emotionally invested in a situation when your high and its the perfect recipe for a panic attack. What I mean is when you do a stimulant, like a bunch of caffeine, you can get heart palpitations which can be annoying and odd but not deadly. If you got the same effect high you would over think it and heart palpitations become something more and then you get emotionally invested in that you think you are dying and you worry about the impact. That causes your heart to beat faster as you get more anxious and it becomes a cycle until it breaks, you get distracted or come down.

I think your fine but if you feel otherwise you should seek help. There is absolutely no shame in being concerned about yourself and even if its nothing its better to know. Also you can always try lowering your dose as perception changes are dose related you can avoid some of the negative thoughts that way maybe. Even trying a "stupid low" amount as there is a point where intoxication occurs try to find your sweet spot.

Then theres the whole "all things end" thought that maybe its just time for a break. Good luck :)
 
If you have not smoked or used cannabis at all for awhile it sounds as though you got way too high and had anxiety or a full out panic attack.

Either smoke more regularly so you get a tolerance to cannabis, or don't smoke or use it. Good luck.
 
Roger32 said:
I dont think I hallucinated. Definitely felt what I felt.

I did not mention anything about marijuana use to the doctor
Click to expand...

You probably hallucinated your anxiety attack. Just try again with smaller doses of perhaps more indica weed, and try not to hallucinate this time.
 
Mafioso said:
do you use any other medications?

anxiety and panic attacks relating to cannabis use seems to be fairly common and seems to be surfacing more and more lately. There are at least 1-2 people who report it every week on these boards.

Are there any new stresses in your life? I know when I have a lot on my plate I don't enjoy smoking as much because it makes my head feel like it is spinning.

Other than abstinence I don't know of any other real solution. Would not suggest taking other drugs to help with anxiety, imo will only complicate and make things worse. If you like tea you could try chamomile tea but I doubt that would ward off full blown panic attacks. If it was bad enough for you to go get checked out by a doctor I would say put it down for a long while and try small amounts like you did, if you feel uncomfortable don't keep going.
Click to expand...

I do not use any medications or take any drugs. I havent drank alcohol since 4th of July weekend. I would say I do have a lot of stress, mostly due to a new job that is bordering on unmanageable (way too high of a workload).
 
hmm sounds about right... my guess is the job. I know when I used to have a very stressful job I would get high and feel like I was going to forget a bunch of important information and not be able to perform fully the next day. You'll probably be able to smoke like normally again but I would suggest waiting until things at work calm down and you feel more in control again. Idk why but when I'm not all completely stressed out or have a bunch on my mind I can smoke and relax, watch tv and fall asleep. If I'm preparing for a big event though smoking makes me wired and will keep me up.
 
believe me on this... If you are in fear of having a panic atack then the weed will make u believe u are having one.

You need to get over yourself and man up, i'm pretty sure if wait a week and have forgotten about the panic atacks u'll be fine.

Another option is take some benzo's to take the edge off. gl
 
MrK9 said:
Another option is take some benzo's to take the edge off. gl
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This has already been advised against; presumably, because it can create a more complex problem.

In all likelihood a lot of time needs to pass. This may have come from overuse of a certain brain receptor.
 
Yeah time for a break. I'd say 70% of the people I know who smoked regularly eventually developed anxiety while high. Seems to kick in around early to mid 20's for some reason. I pretty much quit weed for years but now I can smoke once in a while and be ok most of the time. Im sure things are much worse now then when I was smoking a lot too because weed blew up and it's a lot stronger now.
 
It happens to the best of us.

For some reason, an I have yet to really know any biological reason why, some people just have an adverse reaction out of the blue. Some people have it when they first toke, some people after years and years of heavy smoking.

I've been through it, still abstain to this day, it's been nearly a year. I miss cannabis on the odd occasion, but it's no biggie, it doesn't define me.

Tolerance plays a role in it, set and setting and sometimes it does just seem random. There are only really a few options. Either abstain from smoking for a while, which I found, makes it worse. Worse in that you think about cannabis and you start over-thinking the anxiety/panic, which inevitably when you do go onto smoke, with 0 tolerance, just ends up in a panic attack. Or you can smoke through it despite the anxiety. It's mostly psychological and the more you associate cannabis with panic the more your subconscious will start brining up the anxiety when you go to smoke. You start anticipating it. An yeah, if you've been smoking continuously for years, then sobriety becomes an abnormality. So when you do smoke, it's like woh, because you forget the change in perception and bodily feeling associated with cannabis as they become normality. People in generally don't like the feeling of losing control and a change in perception can bring those feelings to the surface.

As I said, been through it, spoke to many who have been through it. Unless you need cannabis medicinally it shouldn't be an issue, just move on from it. Cannabis should be fun and if it's no longer fun, cut it out of your life.
 
I don't think it becomes a normality, I think you lose it and sobriety becomes something different. Like you were over here looking at that and now you are over there looking at this. If you catch my drift. Just a different set of rules, same game. I like sobriety just fine but it is a slow gain.
 
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